PRESS RELEASES

Highway patrol officers from throughout the U.S. converge on Interstate 10 in Phoenix for unique traffic safety operation

multi-state enforcement event targets commercial vehicles

Friday, December 16, 2011 -

A unique law enforcement operation took place yesterday morning on Interstate 10 in Phoenix involving Highway Patrol Officers from the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) and their counterparts from the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and the Idaho Highway Patrol (IHP).

Also involved in the operation, which focused on commercial vehicle traffic enforcement, were officers from several other agencies not generally associated with highway patrol work in Arizona, including the North Carolina Highway Patrol, the Arkansas Highway Patrol, and the Moopi Tribal Police in Nevada.

The purpose of the operation, which took place from 7 a.m. until 11 a.m. near Interstate 10 and Warner road, was twofold.First, it was designed to provide advanced training to officers in the specialized field of commercial vehicle enforcement.Twenty officers assigned to DPS’s award-winning Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Bureau provided the training with the assistance of CHP and IHP officers.

Secondly, the operation was meant to improve the overall safety of the motoring public on the interstate by having the Arizona DPS officers strictly enforce commercial vehicle laws and regulations.As part of their training, officers from the other agencies closely observed the Arizona DPS officers while they conducted their enforcement efforts that included traffic stops and commercial vehicle inspections.

A total of 33 commercial vehicles were stopped and inspected by Arizona DPS officers during the operation with 11 of those vehicles being placed out-of-service for having a severe violation or a series of severe violations (most violations that result in a commercial vehicle being placed out-of-service roadside are those that have a direct negative impact on the overall safety of the vehicle and/or ability of the driver to operate the vehicle in safe fashion).

By the time the operation had concluded, participating officers had found and documented over 100 violations on the 33 vehicles that were stopped.With 42 percent of the vehicles inspected being placed out of service, and the invaluable training provided to participating officers during the event, the operation clearly made a positive impact on public safety.

The agencies involved in the operation were:

-Arizona Department of Public Safety (Hosted the operation and provided trainers)